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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26075707">Being Ready Isn't That Easy</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/mollyinthewater/pseuds/mollyinthewater'>mollyinthewater</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Anxiety, Gavin Reed Being Less of an Asshole, Gavin Reed Has Low Self-Esteem, Gavin Reed is Bad at Feelings, Hurt/Comfort, I guess???, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Upgraded Connor | RK900 and Gavin Reed Live Together, and nines is the best husband ever, gavin and nines are married, not much to tag idk, that's just facts</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 03:08:15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,714</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26075707</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/mollyinthewater/pseuds/mollyinthewater</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Gavin and Nines are thinking of adopting a child. Gavin is thinking that he might not be the best person to take care of a kid.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Upgraded Connor | RK900/Gavin Reed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>110</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Being Ready Isn't That Easy</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>i've never written reed900 before, so sorry if it's not that good!! this was a writing prompt from tumblr, where you can come and visit me if you're all about detroit become human: <a href="https://mollyinthewater.tumblr.com">@mollyinthewater</a></p><p>also, there is implied child abuse in case you didn't see the tags, but nothing detailed.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Anything else you remember?” Gavin asked, holding the tablet in one hand and typing on it with the other. Nines stood next to him, a distant look in his eyes signaling that he was jotting all the information down in his head. Lucky bastard. </p><p>“Um... n-no, I think that’s i-it,” the teenage boy, Ryan, stuttered out, his voice quiet and shaky. His hands were trembling and his eyes were constantly darting between the two detectives and the cream-colored wall behind them. Who could blame him, though? After being run into last night by a man with blood all over him (blue blood or not, it was still fucking scary), anyone would be pretty damn upset. And this was a kid, for god’s sake. Something like that would probably fuck him up for the rest of his life.</p><p>The woman next to the teenager, a caregiver at the group home where the kid lived, put an arm around his scrawny shoulders, attempting to steady him. “I think that’s enough questions for today,” she said, stern but polite.</p><p>“Of course,” Nines smoothly replied. A small smile came up on his face, one that Gavin would never get tired of seeing. “We greatly appreciate your help. If you recall anything else, please let us know.”</p><p>Ryan simply nodded in response, looking like he was about to tip over and fall asleep. </p><p>“Have a nice day, officers,” the caregiver, Andrea, said before leading Ryan away and probably to his room. Gavin finished typing up all the information as they walked away, Nines turning to face him.</p><p>“I hope he will be alright,” Nines said. Gavin looked up at him and met his gray-blue irises, his eyes full of pure concern but still as serious as ever. There was another thing Gavin would never get tired of: Nines’ eyes. The ones that always held the most love for Gavin that the human had ever seen. “Experiencing something like that can lead to serious mental health issues, such as PTSD and anxiety.”</p><p>“Don’t worry, tin-can. He’ll be fine,” Gavin nonchalantly responded, shoving his left hand into his jean pocket and fumbling around with the half-empty pack of smokes in it. “That lady said he’s gonna see a therapist, right?”</p><p>“Yes, but still. For a child to go through that...” Nines trailed off, his bright blue LED flashing. Ah, so <em>that’s</em> why the android was saying that. He never usually spoke that much about things like that, being worried over witnesses and stuff, but for the past few months, the couple (<em>married</em> couple for two years) had been talking about having a kid. The RK900 had brought up the subject, for some reason suddenly having some kind of maternal fever and his cravings not being fulfilled by the husbands’ three cats. And honestly? Gavin didn’t mind it. He’d never thought too much about having kids of his own, but the thought of having one with Nines was almost comforting in a sense. It was a domesticity that Gavin had once thought would never be available for him.</p><p>But still, Gavin had been somewhat (okay, maybe <em>completely</em>) putting off the real thing of going and actually getting a kid. They had already decided that adoption would be what they wanted to do, but that was the farthest their discussions had gone. Gavin wanted a kid, but at the same time, he didn’t want to fuck them up. Whenever he thought about that, seeing himself as some kind of role model and influence, it was almost terrifying. He knew he wasn’t always the best person to be around and it wasn't like his childhood had been the best. What if he screwed some kid up just as badly as he was?</p><p>“Babe, he’ll be okay. <em>Really</em>.” Gavin took his hand out of his pocket and reached up to Nines’ jacket collar, straightening it out. Gavin knew that that was a comforting gesture for the android and he found it stupidly cute (not like he would ever admit that out loud, though). “Everybody goes through shit like that at least once in their life. We all gotta deal with it, even if you’re just a kid.”</p><p>“And look at it this way,” Gavin added, letting go of Nines’ collar and patting him on the chest twice, “maybe he’ll wanna be a detective now. He’s already got one qualification going for him.”</p><p>“The qualification of being traumatized?” Nines asked skeptically, his right eyebrow quirking.</p><p>“Yep,” Gavin said. “I mean, shit, look at everyone at the precinct. We’re all fucked up in one way or another.”</p><p>“That... is not a very comforting thought,” Nines stated slowly, now looking like he was worried about both the teenager and everyone at the department. Gavin offered him a small smile and shrugged.</p><p>“That’s how it is.” Nines hummed, his eyes trailing down to the tablet still in Gavin’s right hand. Gavin put the tablet inside his jacket pocket, the inner pocket the only one on his person big enough to hold the stupid screen. Christ, Nines had a look on his face like whenever Gavin put himself down about something. They really needed to get the android’s maternal instincts under control.</p><p>“The kid’ll be fine, Nines, trust me,” Gavin tried to assure his partner. “Now c’mon, let’s go on break or something. We earned it.”</p><p>Really, it had been a slow morning so far, with the detectives writing up some reports for other cases and then coming over to the home to question the kid. But Nines looked like he could use a breather and Gavin was more than willing to give him that. Especially since it was usually the android trying to make Gavin feel better about something and taking care of him.</p><p>Fucking hell, it was weird to Gavin for him to be acting like that. All caring and shit. Compared to himself from five years ago, it was like he had been switched out with another person. How was it that this damn android had managed to make him go so soft?</p><p>“Wait,” Nines suddenly said, stopping Gavin from walking towards the door a few feet away from them. “Perhaps we should remain here for a little longer.”</p><p>“What do you mean?” Gavin questioned, a confused look coming up on his face. He raised his eyebrows at Nines. “We already did everything we had to do.”</p><p>“No, I’m not speaking of the investigation. I am referring to our personal lives.”</p><p>“Personal lives? Nines, the fuck are you—” Gavin stopped talking when he immediately realized what Nines meant, his eyes widening and an “oh” escaping his mouth.</p><p>They were at a group home. For children. Where children could be adopted. Where they could do something they’ve been talking about for a while now.</p><p>Of course.</p><p>“Gavin,” Nines gently said his name, his left hand reaching out and gingerly taking hold of Gavin’s right one. Their thin, golden rings brushed against each other’s skin, which Nines had retracted a little past the knuckles of his fingers, revealing the familiar, white layer. “We have been talking about this for the past three months and I don’t think there is a reason to wait any longer.”</p><p>Nines’ bluntness was like a slap in the face for Gavin and he couldn’t tell if it was good or not. Classic Nines and his ways of being straight-forward. Gavin didn’t know if he was mentally prepared to be having this conversation yet, the <em>real</em> conversation yet. </p><p>“Nines, it’s, like, ten in the morning and we’re still at work. I don’t think now’s a good time,” Gavin objected, the avoiding and fearful part of him still dominating.</p><p>“You just said yourself that we should go on break,” Nines countered. “And since we are already here, I find it extremely convenient and perhaps one of the best possible times. It would be good for us to start looking.”</p><p>“<em>Start looking?</em>” Gavin incredulously repeated, letting out a noise that was half a scoff and half a laugh. “Babe, this isn’t like us scrolling through Netflix and picking out what movie we wanna watch. It’s a whole fucking process.”</p><p>“A process that I believe we are ready for.”</p><p>Gavin’s hand tensed as he broke off eye contact with Nines and looked at their intertwined hands.</p><p>“<em>You’re </em>ready,” Gavin muttered, but with the way Nines’ face fell it was as if he had yelled out the two words.</p><p>“What is that supposed to—” Nines cut himself off, looking down to his right and letting go of Gavin’s hand, making his pseudo-dermal layer cover all of his hand again. Gavin immediately missed the contact, but was grateful for the interruption.</p><p>On the right side of Nines was a little girl, no older than ten years-old, with light brown skin and frizzy, black curls. She had on an orange jacket that had a little rainbow sticker on the right side and she was holding on to the cuff of Nines’ sleeve. She must have tugged on it to get the android’s attention.</p><p>“Hello,” Nines greeted the child uncertainly, awkwardly smiling. The grin wasn't all that good, but the girl didn’t seem deterred by it. She was looking up at him, a good two feet difference between them. Though, instead of looking at Nines’ eyes, she was staring at his right temple.</p><p>“I like your ring,” she complimented, her voice soft and high-pitched. Nines glanced up as if he could see his cyan LED.</p><p>“Oh... thank you,” Nines said. Gavin snickered at the weird interaction and Nines gave him a look that practically said, <em>“Don’t act like I’ve forgotten what we were just talking about.”</em></p><p>The kid let go of Nines’ sleeve and turned her attention to Gavin, now looking at his right temple. “Where’s yours?”</p><p>At that, Gavin let out a full chuckle, crossing his arms on his chest. “I’m not an android, kid.”</p><p>“Oh,” she said. Nines shifted on his feet and brought his arms behind his back, holding his left wrist with his right hand like he did whenever he was bored. Though, he currently seemed to only be confused and curious at what this girl was doing. Her gaze travelled to Gavin’s nose. “Well, I like your scar.”</p><p>“Thanks,” Gavin said, his eyebrows furrowed. Why the hell was this girl talking to them? She clearly lived there, but what made her think that it was a good idea to just go over and talk to two strangers?</p><p>“I have a scar, too. But it’s not on my nose,” the little girl told the detectives, rolling up her right sleeve. On her forearm was a long, jagged scar, barely visible but clearly a darker brown than the rest of her skin. “See?”</p><p>“Cool,” Gavin said a little condescendingly, causing Nines to shoot him a quick glare and Gavin to slightly shrug in his defense. Nines looked back down at the kid and cocked his head a little.</p><p>“How were you injured?” The android asked. A sad look came across the girl’s face as she shrugged and pulled her sleeve back down. Nines and Gavin exchanged a look, knowing what must have happened. The kids at the group home weren’t there for no reason, after all.</p><p>Nines crouched down, putting one knee on the ground like he was about to tie his shoes, and held his hand out to the girl. “My name is Nines and this is my husband, Gavin.”</p><p>A swell of pride came up in Gavin’s chest at Nines calling him his husband instead introducing him as just his partner. The girl shook Nines’ hand, his hand engulfing her small one.</p><p>“I’m Kyra,” the kid introduced herself. She let go of Nines’ hand and looked between him and Gavin. “I saw you talking to Ryan.”</p><p>“Yeah, we had to, uh... ask him a few questions about something,” Gavin succinctly explained, knowing that it was probably best to not give away the details of a homicide investigation to a little kid.</p><p>“We’re detectives,” Nines clarified, standing back up and keeping his arms on his sides. Kyra nodded and brought her attention back to Gavin, staring at the center of his face.</p><p>“How’d you get your scar?” She asked.</p><p>“Some ass—ow!” Gavin yelped, Nines having elbowed him in the side. Kyra looked up at them, puzzled. Gavin rolled his eyes and cleared his throat. “I mean... some <em>bad guy</em> hurt me. Cut me right on the nose.”</p><p>“Oh. Sorry,” Kyra apologized. </p><p>“It’s fine,” Gavin casually said. “Scars are cool. Right, Nines?”</p><p>“Yes, of course,” Nines agreed, sharing a secret smile with his husband. Gavin knew that Nines loved all of his scars, especially the one on the bridge of his nose. He made his love for them clear whenever he kissed them, softly in the morning when Gavin woke up or languidly during sex. Either way, Nines always made sure to make Gavin never feel insecure about the marks on his body. “Wouldn’t you agree, Kyra?”</p><p>“I guess,” Kyra said. “But I don’t draw my scar when I draw myself.”</p><p>“Do you like to draw often?” Nines questioned. Kyra nodded, an excited smile suddenly appearing on her face.</p><p>“Wanna see some of my drawings?” She asked, her voice full of energy.</p><p>“Uh, well, we were actually kinda—”</p><p>“Yes,” Nines interrupted Gavin’s rejection. Kyra’s smile grew wider as she turned around and began leading them to assumedly her room.</p><p>“Uh, what the hell are we doing right now?” Gavin whispered to Nines as the two followed Kyra.</p><p>“Indulging her. There’s no harm in being nice.”</p><p>“I thought you wanted to talk or whatever, not spend time with some random kid.”</p><p>“Oh trust me, we are going to continue that conversation,” Nines said, the sentence sounding like a warning. Gavin closed his mouth at that, realizing how thankful he should be right now at Kyra interrupting them and deciding that he would waste as much time as he could to avoid finishing that talk for as long as possible.</p><p>The three walked down a hallway full of doors, stopping on the second one to the right. Kyra opened the door and walked in, the two detectives standing in the doorway and looking at the room. Inside were two twin beds, both against the opposite light blue wall. The bed sheets were the same dark green and the walls above the beds had little posters and drawings taped up on them. Kyra walked over to the bed against the wall with the most drawings, crouching down and grabbing a journal out from under the bed.</p><p>“I used to draw them on pieces of paper, but then Ms. Leon gave me a notebook,” Kyra said as she walked back over to the couple. Ms. Leon was Andrea, the woman who had been next to Ryan when Nines and Gavin had been interrogating him. Kyra opened up the notebook a few pages in and handed it to Nines, who delicately took it from the girl and held it open between him and Gavin. On the left page was a sketch of what seemed to be two girls, one clearly being Kyra with curly hair and the other unknown with short, blonde hair. They were standing on what was probably grass, the sky blue and the sun out. There were little blue and orange flowers scattered across the ground and pink and purple ones in the girls’ hair.</p><p>“That’s me.” Kyra pointed to herself, Nines’ holding the book low enough for her to see. She pointed to the girl next to her. “And that’s Sarah. She sleeps there,” she said, pointing to the other bed.</p><p>They may have just been stick figures, but the drawing wasn’t half-bad for a kid her age. Gavin thought it was kinda cute, and with the small smile on Nines’ face, the android felt the same way.</p><p>“This is very beautiful,” Nines said in all seriousness. Kyra practically beamed at the praise, saying a quick thanks. Gavin looked at the drawing on the right page. There were four stick figures and what was probably a dog standing next to a green and blue car. Gavin’s eyebrows furrowed, an amused smile appearing on his face as he figured out what the drawing was of.</p><p>“Is this... Scooby-Doo?” Gavin questioned. Nines had a confused look on his face as his LED flashed, obviously looking up what Scooby-Doo was.</p><p>“Uh-huh,” Kyra answered. “They’re just like you! Catching bad guys like the one who hurt your nose, right?”</p><p>Gavin let out a laugh, Nines smiling wider at Kyra’s words. “Yeah, I guess so, huh?” Gavin said. “God, I didn’t think kids still watched this shi—<em>stuff</em>.”</p><p>“Did you watch this show as a child, Gavin?” Nines asked, intrigued.</p><p>“Yeah, sometimes. I wouldn’t have thought that kids nowadays even knew what it was.” Gavin went to flip the page when a pair of footsteps appeared behind him and Nines.</p><p>“Oh, detectives!” Andrea announced her presence. The partners turned around, facing the caregiver. “I didn’t realize you were still here.”</p><p>“We were going to leave, but Kyra began talking to us,” Nines explained. Andrea peered behind the two men, a smile growing on her face at the sight of the little girl.</p><p>“I was showing them my drawings,” Kyra said. </p><p>“Ah, I see.” Andrea nodded in understanding before looking back at the detectives. “Kyra is quite the artist, isn’t she?”</p><p>“Indeed,” Nines said, Gavin nodding in agreement. Andrea looked back and forth between them before clasping her hands together and looking back at Kyra.</p><p>“Kyra, would you mind if I spoke to the officers privately for a moment?” Andrea asked. “If that’s alright with you two,” she quickly added to Gavin and Nines. </p><p>“Sure,” Gavin said, Kyra nodding. Nines handed her the journal back.</p><p>“I’m gonna draw you guys!” Kyra happily exclaimed, grabbing some colored pencils out from a dresser between the two beds and sitting down on her bed.</p><p>“Sounds great,” Gavin commented, Nines nearly seeming flattered. </p><p>“We’ll be back in a moment,” Andrea said before walking away, Gavin and Nines in tow. They took a turn down another hallway and walked into a small office, Nines closing the door behind him.</p><p>“Please, sit,” she said, gesturing to two seats in front of an oak desk before sitting down herself behind the desk. Nines and Gavin both listened to her, Gavin crossing his legs and Nines keeping his together and sitting up perfectly straight. “So, are you two thinking of adoption?” She must’ve put it together that they were married thanks to their matching bands.</p><p>“Yes,” Nines answered before Gavin could say anything dismissive. “We haven’t had much time lately to get started, however.”</p><p>“Well, I’m sure the lives of two detectives are pretty busy,” Andrea said, smiling suavely. “It’s a lot of work to take care of child. Even the process of adopting one can be a lot, but it’s always worth it. And if you would like, I could help you two begin your search, either here or somewhere else. There are many children in foster home’s looking for a family to adopt them.”</p><p>“Like Kyra?” Gavin asked, his tone serious. Andrea’s smile vanished as she nodded, her expression earnest.</p><p>“Yes. Kyra... she’s been here for two years. Her parents were Red Ice dealers,” Andrea said, avoiding Nines’ gaze as she mentioned Andrea’s parents. “She had no other family to take her in, so she came here.”</p><p>“And the scar on her arm?” Nines questioned. “Did that occur before her time here?”</p><p>“Yes,” Andrea sadly said. She didn’t elaborate, but the unspoken words said enough. Gavin shifted uncomfortably in his seat as Nines glanced over at him, grabbing his hand like earlier. </p><p>“Kyra’s one of our brightest,” Andrea changed the subject. “She’s very smart for her age and she always manages to put a smile on people’s faces.”</p><p>“She seems very nice,” Nines said, rubbing his thumb slowly over Gavin’s knuckles. The touch made him feel better, one of Nines’ common comforting actions for the human.</p><p>“She is.” Andrea cleared her throat before reaching down and opening one of the desk drawers. She put two pamphlets on the desk right in front of the detectives and Gavin didn’t even need to look at them to know what they were about. “These pamphlets describe what the process would be like and answers any questions you might have. Of course, you can always ask me anything if needed.”</p><p>“Thank you,” Nines said, grabbing the pamphlets and gently folding them with one hand, putting them into his jacket pocket. “We still have more to discuss with each other, but we will let you know when we make a decision.”</p><p>“Of course,” Andrea said before standing up. “Well, that is all I wanted to say, so I won’t keep you two any longer.”</p><p>Nines and Gavin let go of each other, standing up as Andrea walked over to the door and opened it.</p><p>“And you can stay for as long as you like. Kyra enjoys having visitors,” she told them as the couple walked back out into the hall. “It was nice meeting you, detectives.”</p><p>“You, too,” Nines said. Gavin remained silent, Andrea smiling one last time before closing the office door.</p><p>Nines and Gavin stood mutely in front of the door, Gavin looking down at the ground. Gavin knew that the talk was unavoidable now. It only took a few seconds for Nines to continue their conversation from seven minutes ago.</p><p>“Gavin,” Nines said, his voice gentle and caring, “what did you mean by ‘you’re ready?’ Do you... do you not want to do this?”</p><p>Gavin’s eyes snapped up to his husband, the android’s face sad and almost guilty looking. The two emotions quickly washed over Gavin at Nines’ question. “Oh fuck, Nines, it’s—it’s not like that at all, I swear,” he stammered. He sighed and rubbed his face with his hand.</p><p>“Of course I want to do this. I wanna do this with <em>you,</em>” Gavin assured Nines. The android took a step closer to the human, grabbing both of his hands and holding onto them as if they were made of glass.</p><p>“Then please talk to me,” Nines pleaded. “I know that you’ve been avoiding this. You’re not very coy. Please, I want to know what’s wrong.”</p><p>Gavin looked down at their hands, Gavin’s tanned skin contrasting Nines’ white plastic. He took a deep breath and finally gave up, thinking, “Fuck it.”</p><p>“I dunno if I’m... if I’m the best candidate for being a parent,” Gavin quietly admitted.</p><p>“... what?”</p><p>“Jesus, Nines, you know what I’m like,” Gavin told the android. “I swear all the time, I get angry way too easily, and I can barely even take care of myself most of the time. And you know what my life was like growing up. I didn’t have the best examples for parents. I just... I don’t wanna fuck some little kid up like... like how I’m fucked up.”</p><p>Gavin looked back up at Nines, nearly being overwhelmed by the clear love and heartbreak in the android’s eyes.</p><p>“Gavin, I love you,” Nines said, his voice full of adoration. He let go of Gavin’s left hand and cupped the shorter man’s face. “You’re one of the best people that I know. <em>None</em> of what you said defines you. You’re intelligent and caring and kind and certainly not <em>fucked up</em>.” It was nearly jarring for Gavin to hear Nines curse, something the android rarely did in public. “I know that for a fact.”</p><p>Yep, it was definitely way to early for this shit. Gavin could already feel himself breaking down thanks to his husband’s words.</p><p>“Nines,” Gavin breathed out, taking a breath to steady himself and ready to disagree with Nines, but the android refused to let him do so.</p><p>“No,” Nines stopped him. “It's all true, Gavin. And without you, I wouldn't be the person I am today. I will forever be grateful for your influence and what you have done for me.”</p><p>“Shit, babe,” Gavin said, his voice a little strained. “The same goes for me, you know that.” Without Nines, Gavin would still be the same anti-android asshole that nobody wanted to fucking talk to except for charitable Tina.</p><p>“I know that we wouldn’t be the perfect parents,” Nines continued, “but I know that we would be good ones. <em>Both</em> of us. You would be a wonderful father, Gavin.”</p><p>Gavin snorted before sniffing. “C’mere, you fucking softie,” he said, pulling Nines into a hug. They wrapped their arms around each other, entangling themselves in the comfort of being so close to one another.</p><p>“I love you, too, tin-can,” Gavin said, his voice muffled by Nines’ shoulder. “I’m sorry I was being stupid.”</p><p>“You were not being stupid, love,” Nines said, Gavin melting at the pet name. “Your concerns are completely reasonable. But I promise you that any child would be lucky to have you as a parent.”</p><p>“Yeah, and any kid would be lucky to have you, too, what with you and your motivational speeches,” Gavin half-joked. “You’re gonna be fucking great at it.”</p><p>“So are you. You said I know you, Gavin, and I do. The child that we choose to adopt would love you.”</p><p>Gavin held onto Nines tighter, a traitorous tear escaping him and dropping onto Nines’ jacket. “They’d love you, too. Fuck.” Gavin took a shaky breath and Nines began to rub circles into the human’s back.</p><p>“And remember what you said? About everyone at the DPD being ‘fucked up?’” Nines asked.</p><p>“Uh, yeah?” Gavin replied, blinking a few times to try and stop himself from crying anymore.</p><p>“Well, Chris has a son of his own, and you consider him a good parent, correct?”</p><p>“Yeah, yeah, I do.”</p><p>“And I know how you feel about Captain Fowler. He is a wonderful parental figure for you. And Connor is practically Hank’s son, and look at how he is.”</p><p>“Hey, you trying to make me say that I like Connor or something?” Gavin asked, pulling back from Nines to look at his face. Nines reached up and wiped away the single tear streak on Gavin’s face.</p><p>“Of course not. I already know that.” Gavin rolled his eyes as Nines smiled before closing the distance between them and softly kissing Gavin on the lips, the human instantly leaning into the touch.</p><p>“Feeling better?” Nines asked once they broke apart. Gavin nodded.</p><p>“Yeah, I think that’ll do it.” He knew the doubts wouldn’t completely go away, but Nines would be there to reassure him. He knew he would be.</p><p>“Then let’s return to Kyra. I’m sure she’s nearly finished with her drawing of us.”</p><p>“Can’t wait,” Gavin replied. The two walked back two Kyra’s room, the door still open. She was sitting on her knees atop her bed, scribbling away in her notebook.</p><p>“How’s it going, kid?” Gavin greeted her. She stopped drawing and smiled at the two before turning the notebook towards them, showing off her progress. There were two stick figures, one with short medium-brown hair, stubble, and a scar in the center on his face, and another one with short, dark brown hair and a blue circle on the top right side of his face. They were holding hands in front of a half-filled in field. Apparently the kid loved drawing things outside.</p><p>“That looks wonderful, Kyra,” Nines complimented.</p><p>“I’m almost done,” she said. “If you want, I can add something.”</p><p>“Hm,” Gavin hummed, exchanging a knowing look with Nines. “You know how to draw cats?”</p><p>Kyra lit up and that was probably the moment that Gavin and Nines already knew that she was the one.</p><p>Over the next three weeks, Gavin and Nines continued visiting Kyra. They would talk with her and draw pictures, and at the precinct, Nines would embarrass Gavin by going on about how playful he would get with her (it wasn’t like Nines wouldn’t be silly sometimes, though). After twenty-three days of knowing Kyra, the husbands made their decision and asked the girl if she would like to be adopted by them. It was the first time they had seen her cry and also the first time the three had all hugged.</p><p>Gavin was ready. With Nines by his side, they both were.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>thanks for reading!! sorry if the ending seems kinda rushed. i ammmm very tired.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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